Bedding For Your New Puppy

Bedding for your new puppy is very important, as this is where she will be spending quite a bit of time - especially at night. The ideal bedding for your puppy should be a natural fibre, such as wool, because wool absorbs moisture and it will keep your companion warm. When you go to buy your blankets, you may want to try thrift stores, as their blankets will be relatively inexpensive. Puppies love to chew, so you don’t want to buy expensive blankets. They can chew or tear blankets in a very short time, so expensive blankets would be a waste of money.

When you bring your new puppy home, you may find that she is a little stressed by having to leave her mom and the others of her litter and by being in a new environment with strangers. The scents and memories that she came to know and love are now being replaced with new ones. If you are going to get your puppy directly from a breeder, take an old towel with you when you go. Before leaving the breeder, rub the towel on the mother and other pups in the litter. This towel can then be given to your puppy to sleep with. It may help to ease the transition from her original home to yours. If you get your puppy from a pet store, towels, even if they do not contain the scent of her mother and litter mates, when wrapped around a windup clock, are a great way to help her relax and sleep.

You should keep her food and water near her bed, so if she gets hungry or thirsty she can get what she needs. In addition, you should plan to take her out between one-half hour and one hour after she has eaten. You should place a puppy piddle pad about 6 feet away from her bed so that she can use that in emergency situations. You will have to place her on the pad whenever she shows signs that she needs to go to the bathroom. (Some puppies turn in circles just before they relieve themselves, so keep watch for this.)

If you are planning to have your puppy sleep with you, you must be ready to get up once or twice during the night to take her outside to go to the bathroom. You don’t want her to have an accident on your bedding.

If you decide to leave your puppy outdoors, you’ll obviously need to use a different style of bedding. Doghouses are essential for dogs who stay outdoors, as it helps to keep them warm and protects them from inclement weather. Inside of the doghouse, most people tend to use straw so the puppy can make a bed out of it. You can also use a blanket or quilt as well, so that your puppy can wrap herself up in it should she get cold.

If you do not want to use straw, you can consider using wood shavings or newspapers as they also work quite well. Note that newspapers tend to get damaged much more quickly than other forms of bedding, so they will have to be replaced more frequently. You must provide something other than the wooden floor or bare ground for your dog to lie on. Dogs that lie on the ground or cold wooden boards tend to develop arthritis more quickly than dogs that have soft absorbent bedding.

In northern climates where the temperature drops below freezing, puppies should not be left outside in a doghouse in cold weather because they have not been exposed to it during the time they spent with the rest of their litter mates and they could succumb to it. Wait until the weather warms before putting your puppy into the outside doghouse.

Although having an outdoor dog works great for some families, you should still take your dog for walks on a daily basis and let her join you in activities that she finds enjoyable. This way, you can build a unique and lasting friendship with your pet. A dog can quickly become the best friend you have ever had - as long as you take care of her. Making sure that she has proper bedding is a great place to start.

Until next time,

Teia

Unusual Pets: Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are not related in any way to the marine crabs you see crawling across the beaches of the world. Hermit crabs belong to the super family Paguroidea. They are called Hermit crabs because they like to occupy abandoned seashells. They do this to protect their delicate abdomen from predators. There are nearly 500 species of Hermit crabs in the world and most of them live in water. Wild Hermit crabs traditionally live in large colonies of 100 or more occupants.

When a Hermit crab outgrows its current shell, it abandons the shell and moves into a larger one. While it is searching for a larger shell, a Hermit crab is easy prey for predators. Hermit crabs with well fitting shells grow faster than ones that have tight fitting shells. Ones with tight shells cannot withdraw into the shell as easily or quickly as those with well fitting shells, so they are more vulnerable to predators which flip over the shell and attack the Hermit crab's soft abdomen. Because the availability of abandoned shells depends on the population of gastropods in the area, there is frequently a shortage of shells. This usually leads to Hermit crabs fighting with each other for shells. Very rarely do Hermit crabs voluntarily trade shells with each other. When a Hermit crab selects a new shell, it is usually at least one-third larger than their current shell.

Hermit crabs have a tough exoskeleton which covers most of their body, except for their soft abdomen. Therefore, to grow, the Hermit crab has to shed its exoskeleton and grow another one. This process is known as molting. During the molting process, which lasts approximately two weeks, the Hermit crab buries itself in gravel and becomes inactive. Small Hermit crabs molt about once a month and larger ones about once every eighteen months.

Hermit crabs are now being kept as exotic pets because as well as being interesting, they require the least amount of maintenance of all the exotic pets. They seldom grow bigger than a large peach, so they can be kept in a normal aquarium. In the last number of years, many species of Hermit crabs have become part of the marine aquarium trade. Blue legged Hermit crabs, Zebra Hermit crabs, red reef Hermit crabs, common Hermit crabs and red tip Hermit crabs are some of the types which are kept as pets. The most desirable Hermit crab for a pet is the red reef Hermit crab or as it is sometimes called, the scarlet Hermit crab. It is very strikingly coloured, with a bright red body and yellow eye stalks.

Aquatic Hermit crabs live in salt water with salinity ranging from 1.023 to 1.025. The water temperature should be between 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 degrees Fahrenheit for species that come from tropical waters, and cooler for ones that come from temperate waters. The gravel bed of the aquarium where they are housed should be fairly deep, full of algae and it should be covered with many different sized and shaped seashells. If Hermit crabs have a large number of shells to choose from, they will change shells frequently. This is very interesting to watch. Other activities such as climbing and digging are also interesting to watch.

Hermit crabs should be fed daily. Their food dishes should be fairly low and flat so that the Hermit crab can easily climb in and out of the dish. Some species of Hermit crabs are herbivorous and some are omnivorous. When you buy your Hermit crab(s) make sure that the seller tells you what kind you have purchased so that when you buy commercial food, you get the kind designed for the crabs you have. You can also add fresh vegetables and fruit to you crab's diet, however, you must ensure that you never leave this fresh produce in your tank for more than 24 hours as it will begin to decay and will contaminate the water, endangering your pet. Should you choose a land Hermit crab, in addition to its daily food, it needs to be sprinkled with lukewarm water for several minutes. The gravel in your tank should be removed and your tank should be washed about once every month or two. While removing the gravel look at it carefully to ensure uneaten commercial food is removed before it becomes toxic from decay. When removing the water, ensure that you save at least half of it for refilling the tank. This ensures that your crab(s) are not stressed by a drastic change in the water. (Note, do not use soap to wash your tank as the residue left behind could be fatal to your crab(s). Use either plain water or water with a few drops of white vinegar in it to wash your tank. If using a water-vinegar wash water, be sure to rinse the tank thoroughly with plain water and dry it out before putting water back into the tank. If the old water looks “grubby” pour it back into the tank through a paper coffee filter to remove the solids).

You can train your Hermit crab(s) to climb onto your hand by holding your open hand, palm up, in front of your pet. If you keep your hand motionless, in a few minutes, your Hermit crab will climb on. It may pinch your palm, but it will usually let go if you stir the water near it with your other hand. If your pet is a land Hermit crab, run your hand with the crab on it, under lukewarm water and it will immediately let go.

Until next time,

Teia